4
Ways To Control Public Speaking Anxiety
Calls
for "Speech, Speech" can send many men and women
into panic
and fear.
Others may be given an assignment to present information
before a group and feel overwhelmed by public speaking
anxiety in the run up to the presentation.
The
4 key suggestions here will do much alleviate
the problem and assist anyone to control and overcome
public speaking anxiety:
1.
Thorough Preparation
The
biggest antidote to audience fear? Thorough
preparation!
There is no short-cut.
If
you have carefully researched your material so you are
convinced it is worth delivering, and you firmly
believe your audience needs to hear it, and you have practiced
and practiced the delivery, you can stand up in front
of an audience with confidence!
2.
Breathing
Control
nervousness by taking deep
breaths
to relax the body. Concentrate on your message and the
things you have prepared to present to your audience rather
than on your nervousness.
Use
positive speech, even in your own thoughts. Instead
of saying to yourself, "Boy, do I feel nervous",
which only reinforces the feeling, say, "My adrenaline
is pumping and I'm going to use it to deliver an unforgettable
presentation!"
3.
Confidence Visualized
To
increase confidence and combat uncertainty use visualization
techniques.
These can be VERY effective.
Running
through the whole presentation
including the approach to the speaker's stand, the initial
pause, the first few sentences, over and over again in
your mind, will create great confidence.
4.
End Result Visualization
Include
the end result in your visualization exercise.
See
yourself having successfully concluded an excellent
presentation with the applause of the audience in your
ears. See the smiles, hear the compliments afterwards
and make them real in your mind.
In
a TV interview, Mohammed Ali once explained
how he prepared for a fight. He would concentrate his
mind on imagining actually being there in the ring, in
the stadium, at the venue. He would see himself there
at the end of the fight, victorious.
He
created a very real scene in his mind with the smells,
feelings, sounds, sights, he expected to experience at
that moment. He used the phrase 'Future
History' to describe what he created in
his mind.
Why
not create a 'Future History' for yourself before your
next presentation and see how it
triggers
the necessary energy to overcome any feelings of self-doubt.
It
may be unrealistic for some individuals to think they
will conquer public speaking anxiety completely. Perhaps
some public speakers with many years experience can walk
in front of an audience without any nervousness at all.
For
the majority however, who may only be
called on occasionally to speak before a group or an audience,
there will always be some anxiety. A realistic expectation
regarding public speaking anxiety and following the suggestions
above can however do much to control it so it does not
overwhelm the speaker.
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Tag:
public speaking anxiety
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